Snooker ace Michael Holt found himself in a tricky situation during the Welsh Open qualifiers – accumulating an astonishing 50 foul points on a single ball against opponent Daniel Wells.
Despite this, the world No. 86 managed to recover and secure a 4-1 victory in the best-of-seven match. Holt was on the cusp of triumph, leading Wells 3-0 and holding a 70-40 lead in the fourth frame.
However, the 46-year-old made things challenging for himself when he failed to hit the green off the cushion with only five colours remaining on the table. Following Holt’s initial foul, Wells potted the blue and set up another snooker behind the brown. Holt’s first attempt to escape resulted in him missing and potting the white.
Although he managed to connect on his next try, Holt found himself snookered once more, leading by a narrow margin of 70-51. An increasingly exasperated Holt needed four attempts to finally break free, reducing his lead to 70-63.
The Hitman found himself in hot water again when he had to hit the green off three cushions to avoid a foul – a feat he failed to achieve, having to replay the shot six times after missing.
On his sixth attempt, he fouled out once more by hitting the brown, leaving Wells with a shot opportunity. Wells seized the chance, potting the green into the corner and winning the frame 93-70. Despite his series of frustrating errors, Holt managed to bounce back, taking the next frame and ultimately winning the match.
Turning pro back in 1996, Holt has now made it through to the main draw of the Welsh Open and is set to square off against Chris Wakelin on Tuesday evening. Fans can catch the clash live on Eurosport and discovery+.
Reflecting on his performance via an Instagram video post-match, Holt shared: “I felt really good in both matches. I didn’t play as well as I felt, as daft as that sounds. But Daniel wasn’t at his best – he sort of let me off a few times. But I’m going to take it, there’s plenty of times where that doesn’t happen.”
The Welsh Open 2025, following its qualifying stages last week, kicked off on Monday and will be running through to Sunday.